If you use your boat regularly then it's a sure bet that eventually you will be involved in a towing job of some sort or another. If you are a careful owner, and very lucky, you will be towing another boat out of trouble. After all, accidents always happen to somebody else don't they!

However, to the rest of us you are "someone else" and whichever end of the rope you are on, a little knowledge and a bit of preparation can make the whole job less of a trauma.

Towing requires at least one rope and the ability to tie a knot under pressure. Obvious though that is, a rope is the link that is so often missing when a well-meaning boat owner meets a friend in need. The answer is obvious - carry a rope that is not in a hopeless tangle, and keep it somewhere where you can get at it - in a hurry!

But having found a rope we now need somewhere to fix it, and sportsboats are not renowned for being over-endowed with strong points from which to tow. Older boats in particular are prone to waving good-bye to deck fittings, and marine ply boats with cleats fitted by woodscrews are favourites, both for breaking down and needing a tow, and then for subsequently having the cleat ripped out of them.

"Sportsboats are not renowned for being over-endowed with strong points from which to tow."

The situation is getting better, and the European Directive on Recreational Craft requires boats to have fittings strong enough to take the strain of towing and anchoring.

In a rough sea coming alongside a casualty can be inadvisable, and leaving the cockpit of the stricken boat to venture onto a tiny, wet foredeck in order to tie a rope onto a cleat is definite "No! No!"

Far better to have a rope permanently fixed for'ard. Led back to the cockpit, it can be secured ready to use as a mooring line, or for securing onto a tow rope or anchor warp, without the risk of leaving the safety of the cockpit.

Snatching is the problem with towing that destroys deck fittings. As the rope sags, and suddenly snaps tight again, deck fittings come under a lot of strain. The handling of the boats involved is dramatically affected and the tug often finds that it is now towing a length of rope attached to a cleat, four screws and a selection of splinters! Using a long rope helps. The sag caused by its weight absorbs shocks - it also helps to prevent the towed vessel ramming the tug.

Snatching can be virtually eliminated by the use of a "spring" or "angel"!

No - this does not need divine intervention it is simply a weight, such as your spare anchor, hung around the middle of the towrope. The weight produces a dip in the line and any surging or snatching on the rope expends its energy in lifting the weight. It is quite possible to tow sportsboats at planing speed in calm conditions and I like to attach the towrope low down, onto the bow eye whenever possible, so that I am lifting the bow rather than dragging it down, when I put the power on. Similarly instructing the crew of the towed boat to move towards the stern of the casualty lifts the bow. It is a common reaction for the crew of a casualty to come forward to watch the rope, in the misguided belief that they are helping. If they do then the towed boat will shear off wildly, first one way and then the other because you are dragging deep sections first. When the bow of the towed boat is low in the water it is akin to a weathervane that you are dragging wrong end first it will try to swing the bow round to the back unless you have the crew move back so that the bow lifts. Towing astern needs a towing point on the back of your boat and it is better if you can centre the load with a bridle. You could do this by forming a large loop in the end of the towrope by tying a bowline and then dropping this loop over your two stern cleats.

"Towing alongside gives greater control over a casualty but does need a good set of fenders unless you are driving a RIB or inflatable boat."

Towing alongside gives greater control over a casualty but does need a good set of fenders unless you are driving a RIB or inflatable boat. It is really only suitable for calm conditions and I reserve the technique for sheltered water and placing a boat alongside its marina berth. The secret of total control in towing alongside is to make sure that the tug's stern sticks out behind the casualty so that you have some leverage on the turns. (See the diagram for the layout of the ropes). The strain is taken on the diagonals, the short ropes are just to keep the boats together. The rope from the bow of the tug to the stern of the casualty takes the weight, but the other diagonal is needed if you are going to use reverse at all.

Other boats are not the only thing you may meet in their time of need and I once had to tow a racehorse back to the beach when it decided to do a runner from its trainer on the West Coast of Ireland, where else could it happen?

Windsurfers are usually very competent these days but even the best of them can have a problem. In all rescue situations the safety of people comes first, way before any consideration of retrieving property, so get the sailor into the boat before anything else. If you then decide to tow the board you have a choice of methods.

There are, however, a couple of things to remember. Firstly, modern sails are extremely high tech pieces of kit and do not lend themselves to being de-rigged at sea. The second is that you must be wind aware. Lift a sail with its trailing edge into the wind and it will become a live thing with so much power that you cannot possibly control it. Manoeuvre the board and your boat so that you are both facing into the wind and then bring the sail across your boat with the board still in the water. If the edge of the sail with the mast sleeved in it is not facing for'ard at this stage be careful and let it roll over as the wind gets hold of it. Now you can tow the board alongside at planing speed, with your windsurfer holding onto the mast and looking after his own kit. There are legal niceties in towing and being towed that all revolve around the laws of salvage. The advice generally given is when in distress to offer the salvor your rope, and not accept his, as this shows that you were still command of your vessel. And agree terms before accepting a tow or you, or your insurance company, may find yourself with a hefty salvage bill.

"...leaving the cockpit of the stricken boat to venture onto a tiny wet foredeck in order to tie a rope onto a cleat is a definite 'No! No!"

All this sounds like good advice but, in the real and mercenary world, I wonder if the memories of what was said, and what happened, may be a little different by the time both parties concerned have come ashore. Particularly when there has been time to think about the outcome of an insurance claim.

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